Dreadlord (Warcraft III)
Dreadlords are incredibly powerful demons who wield the powers of darkness and mental domination. These cunning, malefic beings once served as the demon Kil'jaeden's most trusted lieutenants. Yet, at Kil'jaeden's request, the vampiric Dreadlords were sent to watch over the Lich King Ner'zhul, and ensure that he carried out his orders to sow chaos in the mortal world. Though Dreadlords have been known to revel in the gore of single combat, they generally prefer to manipulate and beguile their enemies from the shadows. Statistics Hero names Terrordar, Nerothos, Bleakill, Necros, Fearoth, Dethecus, Maldibion, Nochthitus, Balnazzar, Rashgarroth, Aramachus, Zilfallon, Lorthiras, Zenedar, Mullioch, Algammon, Banehallow, Ven'Gyr. Information The Dreadlord is a powerful and popular Hero. Typically most Undead players pick the Death Knight as their first Hero followed by the Lich, and Dreadlord is taken as third, because he's used as a support hero. All of his abilities are especially useful. The main reason players pick the Dreadlord first is for Sleep, which is useful against enemy Hero rushes and for disabling powerful Creeps for the early Creeping part of the game. The Vampiric Aura also heals Ghouls when they attack the Creeps and enemy units that do not have Spell Immunity. Vampiric Aura is very useful in team games. Carrion Swarm can be used to damage collections of units. Inferno is helpful for clearing trees to create another front for the enemy to deal with if they are in a location protected by trees. It's chaos-based damage also allows it to deal decent damage against all armor types. An inferno also stuns enemies that are within its landing zone, preventing enemy heroes (which are always targeted first most of the time) from luring your units in, distracting them from their units and defensive towers and stops channeled spells. While the Dreadlord has a melee attack he isn't the best melee fighter. It's better to keep the Dreadlord away from combat when facing large opposition. Also, be sure to run away if attacked. It's best to give caster items to the Dreadlord rather than melee items but melee items can help. ;Dreadlord Counters Use the Demon Hunter's Mana Burn, surround and kill with melee units, or use ranged units with focused fire. Spells and Abilities Carrion Swarm :Sends a horde of bats to damage enemies. Carrion Swarm can cause great damage to enemy units, especially low hit point units such as ranged units and casters. While many players prefer Sleep, Sleep can only put an enemy unit out of action for a limited time. Also enemy players can just wake up their unit that has been slept. Carrion Swarm on the other hand can noticeably take a large chunk out of the enemy. Carrion Swarm is also useful if another allied Dreadlord in the game is using Vampiric Aura. That frees up some points you can place in Carrion Swarm since they already have Vampiric Aura covered. Carrion Swarm does not hit wards. Sleep :Puts a target enemy unit to sleep. A sleeping unit can be awoken by attacking it. Sleep is an incredibly powerful spell. Good use of Sleep can help determine the outcome of the game. Use Sleep on enemy Heroes to put them out of action. Use Sleep on Heroes that are attempting to run away. Surround them with your Ghouls or Abominations then attack them once they are trapped. Cast Sleep on the most powerful enemy units to take them out of the battle. This can often turn the tide of the battle in your favor. Cast Sleep on the most powerful Creeps before attacking them. You can cast Sleep again on the enemy after they have awoken. This is truly one of the most annoying spells to the enemy. This spell is even more powerful with multiple allied Dreadlords. They can put a whole army to sleep! Use Sleep on Heroes trying to cast spells that must be maintained such as Blizzard, Death and Decay, Tranquility, Starfall, and Earthquake. This will stop the enemy from casting these spells. ;Sleep Counters The most common way to defeat Sleep is to wake up your unit by attacking it with your own unit. Be sure to stop the unit attacking the slept unit as soon as it wakes up. Sleep becomes less powerful when the enemy attacks their own units to wake them up, but this can still cause control nightmares for the enemy. Sometimes they continue to attack their own units after they are awake. This also shifts their control focus away from attacking you and more on waking up their own units which is in your favor. Night Elves can use the Demon Hunter's Mana Burn or a Wisp's Detonate. Just kill the Dreadlord. Dreadlords are pretty easy to kill if you surround them with units and trap them from escaping. Vampiric Aura :Nearby friendly melee units gain hit points when they hit a unit. The Vampiric Aura works very well with Ghouls. It is especially useful in large team games with allied Grunts, Footmen, Knights, Tauren, and Bears. Be reminded that Vampiric Aura doesn't work with ranged units so it's not useful with Crypt Fiends or any other ranged units. Inferno (Ultimate) :Calls an Infernal down from the sky, dealing 50 damage and stunning enemy land units for 4 seconds in an area. The Infernal lasts 180 seconds. Inferno is an ability which allows you to summon an Infernal. Infernals have permanent Immolation and do Chaos damage which allows them to do full damage to all armor types including buildings. Although the Infernal can be used to clear trees, it is not recommended if the player has Meat Wagons instead, because of it's large cooldown and only the impact fells trees, not the Infernal itself. Meat Wagons are better suited for this role. Inferno is useful for casting on an enemy army. It's a great way to spawn in the Infernal because enemy units in the area of effect take damage and are stunned when Infernal lands. Inferno can be used to interrupt spells that must be channeled. Notes The Dreadlords cannot attack flying units, but can use Carrion Swarm on them. (Not usable against creatures immune to magic, such as Golems.) Also, The name Gholbine shares name with a Keeper of the Grove. Strategy Some players typically use the Dreadlord like the Warden. It is a good idea for players to fill the inventory with orbs, thus making him very powerful. The Dreadlord is deadly when you are controlling the Lich and Death Knight. You might use 2 of your heroes so the enemy focuses on them, while you assault an enemy town. Trivia # In one of these quotes, he may be referring to the Night Elf's Faction Hero: Demon Hunter, that the Dreadlord did not have his number but the Demon Hunter have his number also "Darkness" too. Dreadlord.gif External links # Category:Warcraft III melee undead heroes Category:Nathrezim Category:Burning Legion Category:Demons